Sept. 19, 2026, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government Executive Director Robert Romano today issued the following statement urging rejection of S. 2938:
“Under S. 2938, developers of the most powerful, frontier AI models now being trained would have to give their training data, weights and code to the Department of Energy upon request and if they don’t comply they’re not allowed to deploy the model and then they owe $1 million a day in fines until they comply. Congress clearly wants a permitting system and eventually a new agency but if the goal is to inspect every new training model for flaws, you’d need AI to do that, calling into question the feasibility.
“It’s not like the Nuclear Regulatory Commission where there are definite guidelines for safe reactors and securing fissile materials so they are not turned into nuclear bombs. The hardware are chips and servers and data centers. And then there’s the training data, the weights, and the code. Lots and lots of code, and these days much of it might be generated by AI coding, which eventually, not even the coders at the companies will know why it works or be able to inspect it at the speed humans work, let alone a government agency. That’s the point, to improve productivity, and as that happens, the feasibility of meaningful oversight internally or externally without AI tools is practically impossible. We’ll be hoping the thing we don’t understand will audit itself while a peer adversary will not wait. It’s the same problem as now, but with a new, unnecessary bureaucratic layer.
“The bill also defines hypothetical dangers to do with AI and then the Department of Energy writes a report to Congress and makes recommendations. That part sounds okay but it’s still unnecessary.
“Title VII of the Defense Production Act already gives the President all the authority he needs to enter into voluntary agreements with AI companies under 50 U.S. Code Sec. 4558: ‘consult with representatives of industry, business, financing, agriculture, labor, and other interests in order to provide for the making by such persons, with the approval of the President, of voluntary agreements and plans of action to help provide for the national defense…’ Voluntary agreements with the executive branch could be used to generate industry-wide standards and best practices, including peer reviewing models for security flaws.
“And the President can get any information he needs from the AI companies as it relates to national defense under 50 U.S. Code Sec. 4555: ‘The President shall be entitled, while this chapter is in effect and for a period of two years thereafter, by regulation, subpoena, or otherwise, to obtain such information from, require such reports and the keeping of such records by, make such inspection of the books, records, and other writings, premises or property of, and take the sworn testimony of, and administer oaths and affirmations to, any person as may be necessary or appropriate, in his discretion, to the enforcement or the administration of this chapter and the regulations or orders issued thereunder. The authority of the President under this section includes the authority to obtain information in order to perform industry studies assessing the capabilities of the United States industrial base to support the national defense.’
“Or else refusing to furnish information needed for the national defense can carry fines or imprisonment: ‘Any person who willfully performs any act prohibited or willfully fails to perform any act required by the above provisions of this section, or any rule, regulation, or order thereunder, shall upon conviction be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned for not more than one year or both.’
“AI companies are basically computer companies. They’re not deploying fissile materials. And it’s already a crime to use computers to hack other computers or engage in cyberattacks. Perhaps a better approach would be to let the Department of War oversee the industry via the execution of defense contracts on models most critical to national security, and otherwise the National Security Agency and Cyber Command should be looking for major cyberattacks originating on our own internet.
“Finally, under Section 706(d) of the Communications Act of 1934, in the event of war or threat of war, the President can already shut down communications in the interest of national security: ‘Upon proclamation by the President that there exists a state or threat of war involving the United States, the President, if he deems it necessary in the interest of the national security and defense, may, during a period ending not later than six months after the termination of such state or threat of war and not later than such earlier date as the Congress by concurrent resolution may designate, (1) suspend or amend the rules and regulations applicable to any or all facilities or stations for wire communication within the jurisdiction of the United States as prescribed by the Commission, (2) cause the closing of any facility or station for wire communication and the removal therefrom of its apparatus and equipment, or (3) authorize the use or control of any such facility or station and its apparatus and equipment by any department of the Government under such regulations as he may prescribe, upon just compensation to the owners.’ Otherwise, if the military danger to national security was as imminent as S. 2938 describes ‘reach artificial superintelligence, exceed human oversight or operational control, or pose existential threats to humanity…’ that’s a national emergency and the President could invoke the Insurrection Act to restore federal authority.
“The President already has Defense Production Act authority in the event of war to direct wartime production of AI. Voluntary agreements and capital markets can do the rest. The Department of War, NSA, Cyber Command and presidential oversight already deal with the real threats to national security including cyberattacks. A new regulatory Department of Energy bottleneck would hinder defense needs over time by slowing innovation versus peer adversaries who will not wait.”
For media availability, contact Americans for Limited Government at media@limitgov.org.
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